Chapter 2—An Unexpected Visitor

Time is a funny concept because as it moves, it inevitably distorts your perception of reality. Three months seems like years behind me now, yet I can still remember the day my whole life changed. There was something different in the air that fateful day. I could feel that there was some type of energy that was foreign to me.

The weird sensation, I know, had nothing to do with my nightmare that woke me up that morning because there was nothing unusual about it. I had lived that same hellish dream sporadically since I was four years old, with its occurrence becoming more and more frequent as the years went by. My parents were always worried about me because of my night terrors. They had brought me to doctors to see if there was anything they could do, but no matter what we did, nothing helped. Since there was nothing that could be done, I stopped telling my parents about the dreams. They knew that I still had them, but I never told them when I did because there was no point in worrying them about something that could not be fixed.

I can still remember the cold winter New Jersey breeze that cut through me like daggers when I walked out of my house. It was mid-January, so I made sure to bundle myself up in a few layers of coats and my favorite scarf. As I walked alone, the snow beneath my feet crunched loudly with every step I took. Everything still looked as if Christmas was about to arrive, and the joyful energy was still fresh in the air.

The neighborhood houses had snow covering the rooftops, and many had snowmen that their children created in their front lawns. Everyone was still fast asleep in their homes, all bundled up and warm, having beautiful dreams. The moon and stars were hiding behind the dark, overcast clouds that hung heavy in the sky. My only light came from the streetlamps that lined the roads and sidewalks in the little suburb. As I walked, the city started to come into view, so I decided to listen to my MP3 player.

Usually, it was not a very good idea to not pay attention to anyone while in a city alone, but there were very few people awake at this hour, so the traffic was very little. Another reason I felt comfortable not paying attention to those around me was that I can hear people’s thoughts. As if I wasn’t different enough with nightmares that continuously repeat themselves, I also was burdened with other people’s prying thoughts invading mine. My best friend, Ruth, told me that I was fortunate to have this ability, but I did not want to hear what everyone thhought. Most people believed that this would be useful, especially as a teenager in high school because tests were easy, and you always knew what was going on around you, but the truth was it was hell.

The only thing that kept me a little sane even with lack of sleep and my telepathy was that I had found a way to block others' thoughts. It was not an effective method because it took a toll on me and led to horrible migraines. This was why my MP3 player could be useful, as long as it was turned up loud. It did not cut everyone’s internal dialogue completely, but with the volume turned up, it gave me something else to focus on, and everything else became a low lull.

I walked to the park and took a seat on a bench. The sun started to rise, and the number of passersby began to increase as they started on their ways to work or to purchase breakfast. I sat there and watched them without thinking of anything and trying to ignore the unusual feeling that I was having. Listening to my music, I watched the sunrise and decided to get up and walk around until I became tired or was ready to go home.

Over the years, I had had numerous jobs since I was seventeen, but my telepathy made it hard for me to keep a job. While working, I did not always have the means to block out everyone, and some people’s thoughts could make you feel completely uncomfortable. I had had bosses who had disgusting thoughts about wanting to have sex with me, and some co-workers had the same thoughts and would also have terrible thoughts about each other. Some of these people made me feel like I was in high school again with their fake smiles and dreadful thoughts. I just found it easier to quit than to listen to what they could not vocalize.

It was about eight o’clock in the morning when I decided to leave the park and wander around the city, still listening to my MP3 player. The streets and sidewalks were now crowded with people trying to go on with their lives. While I navigated the city ignoring everyone around me, I can remember thinking about how I needed to find myself a job and trying to plan out how I would even be able to manage this with my gift.

While I was walking, a strange building I had not noticed before caught my eye. It was a one-story building made of bricks and had very large floor-to-ceiling windows in front. Some stairs led up to a front door that was extremely old. The building was new to me, but what made me really look at it was the vibe I was getting from it. I started to feel like the reason I walked mindlessly to this place was that it gave me the same feeling I woke up with that morning. The building looked almost like it was abandoned, but it was kept up well.

I began to venture up the stairs after examining the outside for a few minutes. This place did not fit in with all the other buildings that surrounded it. I knew that I needed to investigate. As I started to take my third step on the staircase, I did not realize how icy the ground was and slipped. Before I was able to grab hold of something, hands were grabbing my sides from behind, and my earbuds fell out of my ears.

“You should really be more careful,” a familiar voice said coolly.

I turned my head quickly to see who it was. “Asher, what are you doing out here?” I asked with astonishment. “Last I heard, you moved away—without telling me, I might add,” I replied with joking annoyance.

Asher smiled the same mischievous smile that I had grown accustomed to. “I’m sorry about that. It was a last-minute plan, and if I would have waited, then I never would have left this place.”

Smiling, I hugged him. “I forgive you,” I replied teasingly. “You must tell me all about where you went and what you were doing!”

Asher’s eyes dropped for a moment. Is he upset about something? It almost looks as if he doesn’t want to tell me something.

I had known Asher since our freshman year in high school. He was the new kid in town back then, and everyone seemed to be intimidated by him. All the guys were threatened by him because of his strength. He was a stocky guy, and they were jealous of this and his good looks. His muscles, high cheekbones, short black hair, and piercing blue eyes made him a very attractive person. The girls in school were interested in him, but they were so afraid of his beautiful eyes that they blushed and tried to run away from his gaze. Asher could look at you and make you feel guilty for doing absolutely nothing wrong, and other times, it was almost as if he was looking straight through you. While everyone else was feeling unsettled by the new guy, I was intrigued by him.

Asher was the only person who I had ever met whose thoughts I could not hear, even if I tried. At first, this frightened me because there was something about the whole situation that was off. I could remember he would follow me around, almost as if he were watching me closely. A few times, I did try to listen to his thoughts, but nothing came of it but silence. I felt as if I were trapped, as if the only thing useful for protecting me had been stripped from me. After a few weeks, I decided to take a leap of faith and befriend him; if I couldn’t hear his thoughts, then at least this way, I would be able to figure out what he was up to the same way everyone else had to, and if he wasn’t up to anything, then at least I had a friend who did not have every detail of their life laid out on the table. The latter detail of our friendship was a bonus for me because he made me feel normal. I could not hear anyone else while he was around. While Asher was my friend, I never told him about my nightmares or my telepathy. Something inside me always told me that I shouldn’t tell him about any of it.

“It’s really not important, Sarai,” he stated. “What have you been doing since the last we saw each other?” It was fair to say that Asher was not particularly a loquacious person. He never really spoke of himself, nor would he talk excessively about anything.

I decided not to nag him about what he had been doing for the past three years and answered his question. “Nothing much. I have just been looking for a job and quitting multiple jobs.”

He smiled. “Do you work at this place?”

I looked up at the building that had piqued my interest before Asher had caught me. The building still gave me a weird feeling, and I had completely forgotten about it until he had pointed it out. “No. I just thought this place seemed different from all the other buildings, so I was just going to see what was inside it.”

“How does it seem different exactly? This place has always been here. It has been abandoned for years. There really isn’t anything special about it.”

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

Asher grabbed me by the hand. “Come on, I’ll show you that there is nothing important about it.”

We walked up to the building, and my heart started to race for some reason. I was not feeling scared or anxious, yet my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. First, Asher peered through the window, and then I followed. There was nothing inside the dark, dusty place except for old furniture that was turned on its side. It looked like it had been ransacked years before.

Just as I was about to turn around, I thought I saw a dark shadow flitter from the big open room through a hallway. “What was that?” I asked aloud, not expecting Asher to know what I was even talking about.

“What?” he asked in return. The tone of his voice sounded slightly curious but mostly bored.

“Nothing…Let’s get out of here,” I replied, wanting to get away from this place as soon as possible. If there were something in there, I did not want to stay and figure out who or what it was. I wasn’t afraid of getting in trouble; hell, we weren’t doing anything wrong, but I certainly did not feel the need to stay with every fiber of my being telling me to get away.

“No, now, I’m curious. We should find a way inside. Maybe there is some cool stuff that we can grab,” Asher replied, looking for a way to get inside.

“You can stay and look if you want to, but I’m leaving,” I said bluntly as I started to turn to walk away.

Asher grabbed me by my arm. “Don’t leave me here alone! You were the one who thought this place curious enough to investigate.”

“Well…I changed my mind.” I couldn’t possibly tell him why I felt the need to get away from this place now. He would just laugh at me, call me crazy, or just tell me that I was just letting my imagination run wild.

“Come on, let’s find a way inside,” he replied, pulling me behind him as we walked around the building.

“Asher, I do not feel comfortable doing this.” Just as I finished my sentence, my phone started to ring. “Sorry, Asher, I need to take this,” I told him after looking at my phone. It was my mother.

“Where are you?” my mother’s worried voice asked when I answered.

“I’m hanging out with a friend. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I was just seeing where you were. Did you have a bad dream again?”

I paused for a minute. “No…I just needed to go for a walk is all.”

“Alright,” she said with a sigh. I knew my mother did not believe me.

“I’ll call you back after a little while. Bye.”

After I got off the phone with my mom, I turned back around to see where Asher had got off to, but he wasn’t outside the building. There was no sign that he had walked off or even found a way inside the place. I couldn’t find any footsteps in the snow that led away from where we were or anything. After a few minutes of looking and waiting, I figured he may have ditched me and felt that I should just leave.

Walking down the stairs back to the sidewalk, I felt as though I were standing in the middle of a roaring stadium as everyone’s thoughts started to blend. My eyes started to dart back and forth as I couldn’t focus on one thing. People began to stare at me with judgmental glances, and their voices engulfed me. I started to feel trapped and panicked, standing alone on the sidewalk. My breath became short and rapid with every inhale becoming harder to grasp. I felt as though I couldn’t move, and my heart started beating rapidly. Pain shot through my chest as my heart began to beat out of rhythm. Tears started to fill my eyes, and my hands felt cold, then started to sweat and shake. I needed to leave. I needed to get away from everyone before I passed out, but my feet felt as if they were cemented to the sidewalk, and my legs felt like jelly.

“Are you alright, Sarai?” Asher’s voice asked from behind me.

I couldn’t respond. The voices had stopped, but when did their thoughts disappear? How long had he been standing there? I started to calm down. My hands stopped shaking, and my breathing became less erratic, but I still couldn’t take a deep, good, fulfilling breath.

“Sarai?” Asher replied, standing in front of me and placing his hands on my shoulders. He looked into my eyes for a moment before saying, “Come on, we need to get you out of here.” Placing his arm around my waist, he slowly walked me down the street, away from everyone.

After a few blocks, I finally started feeling better. “Asher, where did you go?”

“I went inside that building you wanted to investigate.”

“But I waited for you a long time.”

He didn’t say anything at first, looking straight ahead to avoid eye contact. “I had just gone inside. When I came out, I saw you having a panic attack of some kind. Everyone was staring at you like you were crazy, so I hurried down to help you.”

“It’s not the first time I made an ass of myself in public. But I figured you snuck off while I was on the phone, so I thought I should leave.”

“Why would I do that?”

I didn’t say anything in response. The truth was Asher seemed like a flaky person. Even though we were friends in high school, we never really hung out in our spare time. Ruth and I tried on multiple occasions to get him to come out with us, but he would never go. We didn’t know each other all that well, and because I couldn’t hear what he thought, I knew less about him than the stranger walking ahead of us.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Asher stopped and searched his pockets. “I found this in a room while I was looking around.”

My eyes grew wide when Asher held out a beautiful white-gold locket with a blood-red jewel placed in the center. It looked very expensive. How could he have found something so valuable in a ransacked abandoned building that was falling to pieces?

“It’s beautiful,” I responded with a gasp, taking it into my hand to inspect it closer. “Why would something like that be in that place?”

Asher just shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly replied, “Maybe someone dropped it, or someone who stole it had hidden it there.” He paused before adding, “It was just lying on the floor in one of the rooms.”

“Well if it was stolen, then I certainly don’t want it.”

“Why not?” he asked offensively.

“What do you mean, ‘why not?’ What if I run into the person it belongs to? This looks like something that was custom designed; it certainly looks one of a kind. I have never seen a jewel that looked like this before either.” I handed the locket back to him, not wanting to hold it any longer.

We walked in silence for a while in town until we reached a little coffee shop. Asher and I bought ourselves some coffee and sat at a table inside, where the cold, snowy weather couldn’t reach us. Our conversation was very dry and short. It was very awkward, as he wouldn’t respond to any of my questions or add anything to carry on a conversation of any sort.

Taking a sip from my coffee, I looked into Asher's beautiful eyes and stared for a minute or two. He is hiding something, I thought to myself. Even the Asher I knew from high school wasn’t so quiet, secretive, and passive. He looked at me for a split second, and then his eyes started to dart around the room, as if he were looking for something to discuss or something to use as a distraction.

“What’s wrong with you?” I finally asked. “You have hardly said a word since I freaked out. Did something happen to you in the past three years?”

“People change, Sarai…” he replied in a bored voice. “Maybe this is who I am now.”

“But you won’t tell me what you’ve been up to, or where you’ve been. People don’t keep secrets like that, and if they do, they make up a lie just to please the person they are talking to,” I responded.

“Maybe I don’t want to lie to you. Maybe it’s better that I just don’t give any explanations.”

“Well, you are making yourself look guilty and like you are up to no good.”

A smile played across his face.

“Only proving my point!” I exclaimed, half-jokingly.

Asher grabbed the locket out of his jacket pocket. “Sarai, I want you to have this. I have no use for it, and you are the only person who has ever tried to be my friend. You don’t have to wear it…but just remember me when you look at it.”

“Is this some type of red flag scenario? Do I need to call someone to have you under a 72-hour watch?” I questioned half-heartedly.

He chuckled. “No, I am not going to kill myself, Sarai. Now, I’m being serious…Please, just take it.”

I exhaled loudly before extending my arm and taking the locket from him. “Alright, Asher, but if this bites me in the ass, then I’ll come after you.”

“Understood,” he replied, smiling.